ENG_For this second issue of ANTICAMERA Marni collaborated with the Fashion Design Graduation Course of the Politecnico of Milan School of Design. This experience involved third year students in a workshop geared to studying the concept of art and creativity. The starting point of the project was the movement ‘Oulipo‘ (Officina di Letteratura Potenziale), whose members include Raymond Queneau, François Le Lionnais, Jacques Roubaud and Georges Perec.

In particular, George Perec with his book ‘Life: Instructions For Use’ and his mania for rules and mathematics as a creative instrument, were the initial elements for defining a creative path based on the individuation of a rule, a limit, a formula capable of generating an art work – a work whose value is not in the final product but in the process that created it. The results of this workshop are presented in this second issue of Anticamera and Waffling.

ENG_Mathematics and algebra formulas as a creative base - this is the starting point of the project UN1C4, a project that focuses on the concept of art, shifting the interest from the finished product to its creative process. The students worked on individuating a mathematical formula that could generate different artistic artefacts.

‘What’s your favorite film‘ is the result of this project. A kaleidoscope of stories created through a mathematical formula which, based on the position of the film in a given list, defines the starting and finishing point of each individual sequence, thus creating a new setting. A film with infinite potential, a constantly growing story. A project in which, however, the human side of the creative act is not lost. The formula, in fact, also includes small imperfections, true narrative ‘short circuits‘, which in this case are generated by the CHAIRS collection presented by Marni for the Milan Furniture Fair 2012.

ENG_Can a dinner become a work of art? This is the question that gave shape to the project ‘La cena‘, a performance created by the students on the basis of a given number – number 8. The idea was born casually, from a game, but later became the guide of the entire project, the central and binding element on which all their decisions and actions were based. 8 is the number of dishes prepared; 8 is the number of letters composing the ingredients bought; 8 the euros to be spent; 8 the geographical areas from where the raw materials originated; 8 the invitations to the dinner; 8 the number of CHAIRS featured in the Marni project for the Milan Furniture Fair 2012 around the table.

The entire project, however, was narrated in 7 different ways (because, after all, rules are made to be broken): 1. the shopping receipts; 2. the geographic co-ordinates of the stores where the products were bought; 3. the photos of the ingredients; 4. the video of the preparation; 5 the list of dishes; 6. the photo of the table; 7. the audio of the dinner.